The lists of names have begun of candidates running in the municipal elections in Prescott and Russell this October.

All municipal websites now have their unofficial candidate nominations for the October elections. Those lists become official after the August 21 deadline for would-be candidates to file their nomination papers.

In Alfred-Plantagenet Township there is one name confirmed on the mayoral candidate list. Antoni Viau has decided to run for mayor rather than seek a third term as a township councillor. Incumbent mayor Yves Laviolette stated earlier this year that he plans to stand for reelection but not filed his papers yet. Laviolette affirmed during a phone interview that he will have his official nomination filed by the end of this week.

“Absolument,” said Laviolette. “There’s a lot of people calling on me.”

Incumbent Ward 1 councillor Benoit Lamarche is on the unofficial nominations list. Also listed is Muriel Lalonde as a candidate to represent the township on the Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien.

In Champlain Township incumbent mayor Normand Riopel and Corina Parisien are confirmed as candidates in the municipality’s mayoral election. In the ward elections, Martin Kaufman has filed candidacy papers for Ward 1 (Vankleek Hill), Roch Pilon for Ward 2 (L’Orignal), Paul Burroughs and Claude Laflamme for Ward 3 (Longueuil), and Gerard “Gerry” Miner and Greg Ross for Ward 4 (West Hawkesbury).

Incumbent mayor Robert Kirby is the sole confirmed nomination to date for the East Hawkesbury Township mayoral election. Incumbent Jacques Tranchemontagne is nominated for deputy mayor, and Monique Desjardins nominated for one of the councillor seats.

The Hawkesbury mayoral race so far has incumbent councillor Julie Seguin and former councillor Gilles Roch Greffe vying for the mayoral position after incumbent Robert Lefebvre steps down in November. Gilbert Hanna is the sole confirmed candidate to date for one of the councillor seats.

Information on how to become a candidate in this year’s municipal elections is available on all municipal website and from Elections Ontario. Deadline to file nomination papers is August 21 by 2 p.m.